


Objection Your Honor!

by spacefleeting



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Anxiety Disorder, High School Mock Trial AU, Humor, JJ's bad table manners, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining, Slow Burn, Swearing, Teens Making Bad Choices, Underage Drinking, for the sake of this fic they all live in america
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-23
Updated: 2016-12-23
Packaged: 2018-09-11 07:30:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8968465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacefleeting/pseuds/spacefleeting
Summary: Yuuri had learned exactly two things during his sophomore year of high school: he was a blackout drunk, and he absolutely sucked at pretending to be a witness in a fake courtroom.  So he swore off both alcohol and Mock Trial in the hopes of getting through his junior year without further embarrassment.Then Viktor showed up and ruined everything.





	

**Author's Note:**

> this is the most self-indulgent thing i have ever written ever, possibly? mock trial is the best/dumbest club i've ever joined and i wanted the gpf finalists + viktor to suffer with me ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
>  
> 
> **if you aren't familiar with mock trial, please see the end notes for an explanation!**
> 
>  
> 
> also, any mock trial terms i use in the fic will always be defined in the end notes. aaaaand i don't know if the mock trial rules vary from state to state, but if they do, let it be known i'm using the rules used in ohio, because that's where i'm from. so i guess this fic technically takes place in ohio, if that's important to you at all.

Yuri Plisetsky was going to kill a man.

 

He had nothing to lose.  There was no way murder could count against his eternal soul because he was already in the bottom circle of Hell, and frankly, he was ready to grab a shovel and start digging even deeper if it meant he could find a way out of this Panera.

 

It was a ten minute walk from school -- five minutes closer than the library, with the added benefit of overprice food.  This meant that it was frequented by Yuri's classmates as a place to study after school or work on group projects.  This also meant that Yuri had a very specific set of circumstances under which he could tolerate being there.  The Panera was fine when you were there at 8 PM the Sunday before finals week and needed somewhere you could simultaneously cram mac 'n cheese into your mouth and algebra into your brain.  The Panera was _not_ fine at 3 PM after school on a Wednesday when the boy's soccer team had taken over half the restaurant for a pre-game meal, the knitting club Yuri's grandfather belonged to was taking over the other half, and a freshman was sobbing into her soup over her biology homework.

 

Yuri could see the exit.  It was _so close_ .  He had picked this seat specifically because it gave him a clear view of the way out (and because it was next to Otabek.  The seat across from Otabek, which was usually also acceptable, would have put him next to JJ, which would have ended in bloodshed).  This had been a tactical error; although Yuri could _see_ his escape route, it was currently being blocked by one Viktor Nikiforov.

 

Viktor, who hadn't noticed the holes Yuri was drilling into his skull because he was too busy gossiping about AP French with Chris.

 

Viktor, who had dragged them all here in the first place but had yet to explain _why_.

 

Viktor, who had yet to die from suffocation only because Yuri wasn't going to waste his muffin by shoving it down his esophagus.

 

He was only fifteen.  He didn't have the kind of pocket money to be wasting snacks like that.

 

"Kill me," Yuri whispered to Otabek, who hummed contemplatively.

 

"Murder's illegal."

 

Yuri scowled, picking sullenly at his muffin wrapper.  "It would be a mercy killing, Beka.  Fucking do it already."

 

"No."  Otabek reached over and stole Yuri's water while Yuri grumbled into his food.  He took a quick sip, then continued, "If I killed you, I wouldn't have a best friend anymore."

 

Yuri choked on his muffin.

 

The other occupants of the table looked over at the sound of Yuri's guttural hacking.  JJ -- the disgusting fucking _bastard_ \-- laughed, spewing half chewed pieces of mac 'n cheese across the table.  Chris abandoned his smug eyebrow raise in favor of reeling backwards out of JJ's range of fire with an exasperated " _Man_ , come on!"

 

Viktor ignored them in favor of taking in the way Yuri's ears were turning red from something other than lack of oxygen and the way Otabek was gently thumping Yuri's back with one hand while offering back Yuri's stolen water with the other.  Even through his watering eyes, Yuri could see the shit-eating grin making its away across his stupid fucking face.

 

"Otabek," Viktor said sweetly, eyes twinkling, "did you make Yura feel an emotion other than anger and teenage angst again?"

 

"Fuck you," Yuri wheezed at him, ignoring Otabek's nod.  He snatched the water from Otabek's outstretched hand and took a long drink.

 

Viktor flipped his bangs out his eyes.  "Rude."

 

Yuri took a deep breath and, when he didn't immediately start coughing again, politely responded with "I hope you fucking choke."

 

Viktor clapped a hand over his heart in a move that would look grandmotherly if it was being executed by someone with a lower inherent level of drama.  "Yuri Plisetsky!  That is _rude!_ "

 

"No, you know what's rude?  Dragging us all here when we have better shit to do and not telling us why, that's _rude_."

 

"Calm down, Yura, I told you, we're waiting for -- Phichit!"  This last was said with a kind of mixed joy and relief, and Yuri looked over to see Phichit smoothing down his skirt as he slid into the seat on the other side of Otabek.

 

"Sorry I'm late!"  Phichit flashed a toothy smile at the table, scrolling rapidly through his phone without even glancing at the screen.  "I had to ask Ciao Ciao about something, and then I ran into Seung-gil on my way over, and, guys, did you know he has a dog?"

 

"Seung-gil?" JJ squeaked, at the same time that Viktor squealed " _Dog?_ "

 

" _Yes,_ " Phichit gushed in response to both.  Yuri eyed JJ warily as Phichit showed everyone the five hundred pictures he had taken of Seung-gil's dog (which was, in fact, completely adorable, for a dog).  The Canadian's only redeeming quality was his ability to appreciate pictures of cute animals, so the fact that his attention was caught by the _Seung-gil_ part of Phichit's statement and not the _dog_ part was shady.

 

But Yuri couldn't focus on that for too long, because _Phichit_.  Phichit was there, which meant that Viktor could get on with whatever it was he couldn't discuss with them through a group text and they could all go home.

 

Except that Viktor was still cooing over Seung-gil's husky.

 

Yuri kicked him under the table.  Hard.

 

"Ow!"  Viktor reached down to rub at his smarting shin and turned pitiful, watery eyes onto Yuri, as if he hadn't known Yuri for ten years and didn't already know that Yuri was entirely indifferent to his pain.  "Yura!" he whined.

 

"Phichit's here, asshole.  Fucking get on with it already."

 

"Yeah, dude, no offense, but I second that," JJ began, pausing politely when Yuri hissed a deadly " _I don't need you to agree with me, shithead_ " across the table at him.  JJ nodded affably and sent Yuri an easy grin before continuing, "Not that I don't love all of you dearly--" (Yuri made a strangled, livid noise.  Otabek handed him half of his cookie.) "--but I have the biggest essay to write on _Macbeth_ tonight and it's due, like, tomorrow, so the faster we get out of here, the better."

 

Phichit raised a single, perfect eyebrow.  "That was assigned two weeks ago, JJ."

 

JJ's disgusting smile got bigger in the way that meant he had fucked up and he knew it, but he wasn't going to admit it.  He had mac 'n cheese in his teeth.  Yuri wanted to die.

 

Chris cut off JJ's response with a wave of his hand.  " _Please_ , boys.  Let Viktor talk now."

 

Viktor's eyes lit up.  "Thank you, Christophe.  Truly, I don't know what I would do without you."

 

"Die of alcohol poisoning in someone's bushes after a football game, probably," Chris responded serenely.

 

"Right!" Viktor enthused, nodding rapidly.  "That's why you're my best friend."

 

"What the fuck," JJ breathed, looking mildly disturbed, and Phichit raised both his eyebrows.  For a brief moment, Yuri didn't understand why they looked so affronted -- they had all seen Viktor shitfaced more times than any one person ever needed to, and Phichit definitely had photographic evidence of at least half of those encounters -- before realizing that they weren't so much concerned by Viktor's ill-advised drinking habits as they were by Chris and Viktor's nonchalance about Viktor's morality.  Yuri still didn't get it, though -- Chris was just being honest.  They had all seen him drag home a shitfaced Viktor more times than any one person ever needed to, of which Phichit also had photographic evidence.

 

Oblivious, Viktor continued, "It's also why you, my dearest Chris, are the perfect Mock Trial vice president! Which --" here Viktor shot a pointed look at Yuri, who flipped him off " --brings me to why I asked you all to come meet me today."

 

"Fucking _finally_ ," Yuri muttered to Otabek, shot him a small half smile.

 

Phichit cocked his head slightly to the side, furrowing his brows.  "The season doesn't start until mid-October, I thought?"

 

"No, no, you're right," Viktor assured.  "The case isn't even released yet.  But this is team stuff, not case stuff."

 

"Oh?"  The change in the mood at the table was tangible; there was a sudden charge in the air, an anticipatory static that made the hair on the back of Yuri's neck stand up.  Everyone straightened up.  Phichit's expression went from playful to contemplative as he locked his phone.  The arm Otabek had slung around the back of Yuri's chair stiffened.  Chris stopped chewing on the straw of his iced coffee, and JJ finally put his fork down.

 

Anxiety settled low in Yuri's stomach, clenching and unclenching like a winding snake.  This was the conversation they had all been avoiding since their defeat at the state championship last year.  Yuri had known, logically, that it was coming, that the closer they got to the start of the Mock Trial season meant the more likely it was that they would be having it soon, but he hadn't expected to be having it _now._

 

Viktor nodded.  "Yakov wants the board to start making the teams next week, so I wanted to get us sorted out before everyone else starts scrambling to fill their spots."

 

"That's confidential board information, Viktor," Chris chided in a sarcastic imitation of Yakov's deep growl, eyebrows raised in mock-scandalization.  "It's not fair unless everyone starts arranging their teams at the same time"

 

Viktor shot Chris the same serene, aggravating smile he always gave Yakov when he was about to do something he knew he wasn't supposed to do but knew he would get away with anyway.  "Like Emil and Sara didn't start wrangling their own team the minute we got out of the last meeting."

 

Chris titled his cup in Viktor's direction with a conceding nod. "Touché."

 

Viktor clapped his hands twice.  "Real quick, let's start by confirming everyone we already have, just to be sure.  Chris, Otabek, you're still on board to be attorneys?"

 

Both nodded, and Viktor's grin got wider.  "Excellent!  Phichit, JJ, Yura, you're our witnesses?"

 

"Of course," Phichit tried to confirm.  He was drowned out by JJ shooting finger guns at Viktor and cheering "Boy, you know it!" with an obnoxious wink.  Yuri gagged and Viktor's smile turned slightly strained.

 

"Great."  It came out strangled, and Viktor cleared his voice and tried again.  "Great!  Alright.  I'm going to double-role as an attorney again, so we're all set on that front.  We just need to decide on who we want to bring on as another witness."

 

The snake of anxiety in Yuri's stomach began to wind its way up into his chest.  This was what he had been dreading ever since the last season had ended in tears.

 

Yuri had joined the team last year as a freshman, for the official reason that Viktor believed he had the talent for it.  In reality, it was because Viktor had wanted to make a point to Yakov that they school could increase their success by not shoving all the Mock Trial freshmen on a team by themselves and leaving them to flounder, and figured that Yuri would the ideal person to prove him right.

 

All the other freshmen had been so envious that he had been taken on by their school's star team, but Yuri had felt like a charity case; Otabek aside, the team had babied him for the first three weeks, over-explaining every part of the trial process as if he wasn't capable of reading the damn rules himself.  Memorize the witness statement, know the direct questions, come up with defenses for the weak points that the opposing lawyer will slam on cross; how hard could it be?

 

Viktor had explained, later, when it had been just the two of them, that the team had only been trying to help: from the start, Yuri had only snarled at them when they asked if he needed help.  They weren't sure what he needed explaining, so they had explained everything.  Objectively, Yuri knew this -- and he had certainly benefitted from the tricks and tips for being on the stand that JJ and Phichit had dropped on him at every available opportunity -- but that didn't stop it from being completely humiliating.

 

And because Yuri was a competitive piece of shit with a proud streak a mile wide, he compensated for the embarrassment by being the first to volunteer to take over Georgi's role when he quit.

 

Georgi had been Otabek's witness on the defense, but he dropped out a month and a half before the competition when Anya had dumped him, citing his emotional turmoil.  It would keep him from doing his best, he had said, and he didn't want to drag the team down.

 

The ensuing fight had been ugly; Georgi, king of dramatics that he was, had insisted on telling the whole team in person -- in the middle of finals week before winter break, when emotions were running high and sleep and patience were running low -- instead of giving them the emotional buffer of a group chat.  Chris, furious, had called his boyfriend to pick him up immediately after Georgi's announcement, which meant he wasn't there to calm down Viktor so Viktor could calm down everyone else.  By the end of it, both Phichit and Viktor were crying, Otabek had completely shut down, Yuri's voice had gone hoarse from yelling, Georgi had slapped JJ, and they were all banned from the Dunkin Donuts next to the library.

 

The end result was the same as it would have been if Georgi had dumped them over text: they needed another witness or they were going to have to drop out of the competition.  It was much too late in the season to risk bringing someone completely new on, but all the experienced people were already committed to other teams.  Yuri had worked too hard -- they all had worked too hard -- to let it end before they even got to _try_.  So Yuri offered to double role as a witness and take Georgi's place.

 

Which sparked another fight.  Both Phichit and JJ insisted that Phichit should take over instead, because he was more experienced and could handle the pressure better.  Yuri insisted that, as a freshman, his lighter course load would give him more time to dedicate to learning a new role at the last minute.  Otabek insisted that Yuri had the skill to do it, and promised to dedicate time to helping Yuri learn the material.  Chris insisted that they were fucked no matter who took over for Georgi.

 

In the end, the final decision of what to do was given to Viktor, the team captain.  He had held Yuri's gaze for a long time, considering, then asked, "Can you do this?"

 

And Yuri had replied, "Yes."

 

Memorize the witness statement, know the direct questions, come up with defenses for the weak points that the opposing lawyer will slam on cross; how hard could it be?

 

The district competition was easy.  A lot of the teams there were a mess, and Yuri had breezed through two trials without a hitch.

 

Regionals was fine, too.  The teams there were better, more polished, but Yuri had practice now, and Viktor and Otabek objected at the right moments to defend him from unreasonable questions.

 

States was where everything fell apart.  The first trial -- defense, with Otabek, in Georgi's old role -- had been a struggle, but they came out the other side feeling confident.  But in the second trial -- plaintiff, with Viktor, playing as the witness he had been preparing for since the start of the season -- they crumbled.  Everyone -- even _JJ_ \-- insisted that wasn't his fault, that he had done the best he could, but Yuri _knew_.  He had felt himself floundering on the stand.  There were questions on cross he hadn't heard before, things he didn't know how to respond to.  The scores were low across the board, but Yuri's was the lowest.

 

He spent the bus ride home curled against Otabek's chest, sobbing into his suit collar, while Otabek wrapped him in his arms and buried his silent tears in Yuri's hair.

 

When they got back to school, Yuri had told the team, in a dead voice, that they should probably find a fourth witness for the next season.  Viktor had hugged him and said they would talk about it.  He didn't bring it up again.

 

Until now.

 

Chris tilted his head.  "Are we sure we want to bring in a fourth witness?  Yuri did fine in a double role last year."

 

JJ rolled his eyes.  "Yeah, and then he told us he didn't want to do it anymore."

 

"That was last year.  This is now."

 

Viktor tapped his chin contemplatively.  "You're both right.  Yura --" he turned to Yuri, expression gentle "-- what do you want to do?"

 

Everyone turned to look at him.

 

Yuri said, "Um."

 

They stared at him.  He stared back, feeling smaller than usual.

 

"Make a choice, buddy," JJ said finally, picking his fork back up.

 

"Fuck you," Yuri snarled.  He was _this close_ .   _This close_ to lunging across the table and ripping out JJ's jugular with his teeth.

 

JJ dropped his fork back into his bowl of mac 'n cheese with a clatter and raised both hands defensively.  "Hey hey _hey_!  I'm just saying!  We gotta know if you want to do this again or not, so we can find someone else if you don't.  We don't want another Georgi situation, you know?"

 

"I _know_ ," Yuri growled.  God fucking dammit.  Every time JJ was right, Yuri lost another year off his life.  "I just...I haven't thought about it that much, alright?"

 

That was a complete lie.  Yuri had spent what felt like every spare moment agonizing over what he would do this season for the past five months.  Otabek side-eyed him, because he knew.

 

"Well, chop chop, kid."  JJ tapped his watch-less wrist.  "Time's a-ticking."

 

"JJ," Viktor cut in before Yuri could respond with physical violence.  "Yuri.   _Please_."

 

Usually, Yuri didn't give much of a damn about Viktor's whining, but this time, he sounded as tired as Yuri felt, and he realized that maybe, like him, Viktor had things he would rather he doing than dicking around in Panera.

 

Yuri dragged his hands down his face.  "Jesus, look, I would rather not do it, okay?  But I will if I have to.  Have you thought about that?  Who are we even going to get to take my place?"

 

" _Not Georgi_ ," Phichit and Chris said simultaneously.

 

"Absolutely not," Otabek agreed softly but vehemently.

 

"Isn't Georgi, like, fucking banned from Mock Trial anyway?" JJ asked.

 

"No," Viktor moaned resentfully. "I tried, but Yakov got all, _That's not fair, Vitya_ , and _You can't ban someone for life just because you're mad at them, Vitya_ , and _Revenge only hurts you in the end, Vitya_ , so I gave up."

 

"What the fuck?" Chris looked disgusted. "Doesn't he know that we are inherently spiteful and that we thrive off causing pain to those who've wronged us?"

 

"That's what I said!" Viktor punctuated each word with an empathetic wave of his hands. "Clearly he doesn't really care about us. So no, Georgi is not banned from Mock Trial, but yes, Georgi _is_ banned from our team. So we gotta think of someone _who is not Georgi_ to be our seventh person."

 

Phichit hummed. "I'd say we could ask Leo, but I would feel terrible asking him to split up from Guang-hong, so that's a no."

 

"Mila?" Viktor offered.

 

Yuri snorted. "Hell no."

 

"Hey, rude! Yura, I _know_ you secretly have feelings of friendship for Mila. And even if you didn't, I _also_ know you can work with people you hate."

 

JJ swallowed his mouthful of mac 'n cheese and grinned. "Like me."  He looked like he was proud of this fact.

 

Yuri huffed. "It's not _that_ . It's that I know she'll say no." Yuri wanted to add " _Because she is in love with Sara Crispino and is too fucking gay to even consider switching teams away from her_ " but he couldn't, because Mila had sworn Yuri to secrecy about her crush, and Mila could break Yuri in half with her pinky finger.

 

"Fine," Viktor huffed. "Who then?"

 

"Mickey?" JJ proposed.

 

Chris shook his head. "Won't join a team without Sara."

 

"Emil, then?"

 

"Emil's a lawyer, and also won't join a team without Mickey."

 

JJ blinked once, twice, then frowned. "Wait, what?"

 

Chris blinked once, twice, then frowned.  "Do you seriously not know?"

 

"Know _what_?"

 

Chris let out a long-suffering sigh.  "Look, I'll tell you after we figure this out.  Otabek, any ideas?"

 

There was a thoughtful pause, and then Otabek said, "No."

 

"Well, thanks," Chris scoffed.  "We'll keep that in mind."

 

Otabek frowned, and Viktor intervened.  "It's fine," he insisted.  "It's not like the rest of us are having any luck thinking of anyone either."

 

Yuri's chest constricted painfully.  The devastation of last year's state championship flickered through his mind again.  He didn't want to feel that again, but more importantly, he didn't want to _feel responsible_ for that again.

 

But with the way things were going, they weren't going to think of someone to take that weight off his shoulders.

 

He felt Otabek's arm tighten around him, and Yuri leaned ever so lightly into him, grateful.

 

Chris, JJ, and Viktor were still bickering over each other's ideas about potential candidates when Phichit, who had been uncharacteristically silent through most of this exchange, let out a soft "Ooooh."

 

Everyone paused.  Experience had taught them all that when Phichit sounded like that, it usually meant that someone was about to be exposed on Instagram.  Yuri craned around Otabek to get a better look at Phichit, who was smiling down at his phone.

 

"Ooooh, I know who we should ask."  Phichit looked up at the table.  "We should ask Yuri."

 

" _Ummm_ , qu'est-ce que c'est tu dis?" JJ drawled, slipping into French in the way he always did when he wanted to be extra obnoxious.  "Phichit, I don't know if you've been paying attention here, but we are trying to find someone to take over for Yuri.  It's _probably_ not a good idea for to ask him to take over for himself."

 

Phichit rolled his eyes, but his smile didn't slip.  "I _know_ that.  I'm not talking about him."  He waved a hand in Yuri's direction, and Yuri's eyes narrowed dangerously with sudden realization.

 

Oh no.  There was no way he meant--

 

"You guys have met Yuuri Katsuki, right?"

 

Yuri Plisetsky was going to _kill a man._

**Author's Note:**

> **a quick explanation for people who don't know what mock trial is!!!**
> 
>  
> 
> mock trial is a high school club in the america (it also exists at the college level here and i know that similar programs exist in other countries, but i'm not sure how different/similar those are to the american high school version). you're on a team of 5-8 people, with four people on each side, the defense and plaintiff. it's possible to double role, which is what people at my school call being on both defense and plaintiff, which is why you can have fewer than 8 people on a team, but each side also needs a timekeeper during the trial (usually just someone from the other side of your team), which is why you can't have fewer than 5. two people on each side are lawyers and two are witnesses. at the start of the season, you're given a case that contains case briefs and witness statements for both sides, as well as exhibits (evidence you can bring up in trial) and case law (summaries of the rulings of real life court cases that might apply to the fake case you're given).
> 
> basically your four person squad picks the side of the case you want and you craft an argument for it (what you want to convince the judges of is outlined in the case briefs). to do this, the witnesses on your team each learn a witness statement, which they are questioned on by lawyers from both sides during the trial. this is where the exhibits can be brought up, and opposing lawyers can object to your questions here. lawyers also have to write opening and closing statements where you explain what you want/why the court should rule in your favor, which is where you can use case law to support your argument.
> 
> the competition structure goes districts, regionals, states, and nationals. in competition, each side of your team faces off against the opposing side of a different team, so you go through a total of two trials. you have to win both of your trials to move on! each trial typically lasts about 2 hours, so it's a long day.
> 
> aaaand that's the end of the explanation! **mock trial terms used in this chapter:**
> 
>  **direct questioning:** questions that you, the lawyer, write for your own witness. this gives the witness a chance to tell their story, and lets you, the lawyer, highlight the parts of their statement that support your argument.
> 
>  **cross questioning:** questions that you, the lawyer, write to ask an opposing witness. this is where you bring up all the super weak parts of the witness's statement and try to discredit everything they said on direct, to make the other side's argument look weaker.
> 
> thank you so much for reading!!! i'm sorry this author's note is SUPER LONG, the next one shouldn't be like this. i'm also about halfway through chapter 2, where more actual things occur instead of 3000 words of exposition, so that should be up pretty soon. if you have any questions about the fic or about mock trial, comment and i'll get back to you as soon as i can! i'm also on twitter @vityaniikiforov if you have questions, or if you just want to scream about yoi.
> 
> s/o to my buddy mar for proofreading this even though she doesn't watch yoi!!! love ya


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